News travels fast, especially bad news, and all because of the internet. We have Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, and other online sources where people can report negative issues. Consumers sometimes think they do a good job at shopping for specific services when they actually don't. Because information is so readily at our finger tips, they just dive into the main course, almost like if you were to eat with your fingers, but not use your silverware.  Same issue with using the internet. There are so many tools that can be used, or one to be properly educated, but the consumer is so hungry and starved for good information, if they think they have found it, they stop. The same can be said when just shopping for a real estate agent or a loan officer, no matter if it's done online, through word ... 03/05/2011

      In many cases, don't we want the best deals?  I think when most people begin to shop for a home or shop for a mortgage, wanting a good deal or the best deal is on many buyer's or seller's minds. And when getting a great rate, some people like to brag about it. But are the details distorted? Not known? One key point to remember through this whole post, Not one borrower is the same. One needs to compare apples to apples. Just a lower credit score could change the whole scope of someones interest rate. And just because two apples may look the same, doesn't mean they taste the same or feel the same.         How many times did someone say these key phrases when it came to mortgages and or real estate……….   “Well, my neighbor sold their house for $325,000 and I should be able to get the... 03/03/2011

Cherry Hill, NJ Homes for Sale With spring only a few weeks away, Buyers are starting to hit the housing market hard looking for a great deal for which there are many.  If you are not on a tight timeline to settle on a new home and have the patience to navigate through a short sale, there are some potentially nice buys in the market place.  Here is your weekly update of Short Sales and Foreclosures.  Access them all for free and let me know if you have any questions. For more information on short sales in general, please see my blog from a couple weeks ago. Here is a  list of current Cherry Hill Condo Short Sales Here is a list of current Cherry Hill Single Family Home Short Sales Or just search all Cherry Hill Homes now.   Get timely community information as well as up to date school r... 03/02/2011

  As many of you know, Google has made some changes just recently in the way things are searched and what can show up in your searches. At first when reviewing some of these changes, one might panic. I'll explain that in a few minutes. The bottom line is that on one side, you will need to be more social online. The other change won't hurt you as long as you keep blogging relative and quality content that pertains to your strengths of your business.   What are these specific changes to Google? One of the changes is that of Social Search. Stephen Garner gave this easy to understand breakdown of how this will work. Google's Updated Social Search and It's Benefit To You   In my opinion, it basically comes down to how you engage and interact with others online, through such avenues as Facebo... 02/26/2011

Important Information for Condominium Buyers For a current list of all Cherry Hill Condominiums Are Condominium purchases different than single family home purchases?For the most part they are similar with respect to the overall administration of the sale.  However, there remain some distinctly important differences that all Buyers should be aware of when looking at condominiums. For one, financing can be more difficult with respect to condominiums. Especially if your financing through FHA.  In that case the condominium association must be approved.  Criteria ranges from number of units rented to fees in arrears to any litigation pending against the association.  Any of these can prohibit financing.  Always check with your Realtor or lender to confirm the association is FHA approved.  M... 02/17/2011

  Borrower : I would like to see this specific home... Realtor : Have you spoken to a loan officer? Borrower : No, not yet. Realtor : Do you know your credit scores? Borrower : Yes, I pulled my credit online and I have a  680, 705, and a 695, so I should be good to go, right? Realtor : Those are very strong scores, so let's look at a few houses and then I can get you qualified.     Your Credit Score is more than just a number   People, it's not that simple. I have seen buyers pre-qualified primarily based on their credit scores, yet the loan officer or realtor didn't review the credit properly, which can still kill a deal at times. But the reason I am bringing this up is because I have seen a few blog posts written with many comments, all stating that they ask the borrower their credit... 02/13/2011

  Good Faith Estimates are suppose to give you a very good indication of what it will cost you when applying for your mortgage.  The new Good faith estimates, also known as GFE’s, went into effect on January 1st, 2010 and are less complicated than the old good faith estimates. In my opinion, the problem with the new good faith estimates is that they are misleading and don’t share enough pertinent information. I truly think that the government over-steps the boundaries when it comes to protecting the consumer. But let’s explore in detail.   The good faith estimate is comprised of 3 pages.  The example below appears on page two.   As you can see, this part of the good faith estimate doesn’t break down the total costs, but lumps all the costs into the origination charges. You don’t know if... 02/10/2011

  How many of you like to have money left over after making a major purchase? I would think many of us would say yes to this. There are some mortgage experts that tell you to put 20 percent down or that you should pay off your mortgage as soon as possible. I will tend to disagree with this. In my opinion, “Cash is king” … I think we can agree on this statement, right? In my comparison between FHA loans and conventional loans, I showed that even with 10 percent down and a 699 credit score, that FHA loans were slightly cheaper. (you can read about this in the link at the bottom – Part 1) In my next example, I want to show you the difference with the FHA mandatory requirement of 3.5 percent down and compare it to 10 percent down. As many of you know, I am a firm believer in keeping the mon... 02/05/2011

  We hear so many realtors talk about Fiduciary Responsibility. In comparison, this word is waved around by many realtors just like the American Flag and how the flag symbolizes the United States. The flag is seen a lot, all over, but do many know it's true meaning? I feel the same about the phrase "fiduciary responsibility" Wikipedia says this :  A fiduciary duty is a legal or ethical relationship of confidence or trust regarding the management of money or property between two or more parties, most commonly a fiduciary and a principal. The realtors fiduciary responsibilities are described as fiduciary duties of a realtor. If we take this one step further, to define these duties for realtors, NAR states this :     Loyalty Obedience Disclosure Confidentiality Reasonable care & Diligence... 02/04/2011

The Keri Ricci team is having some great Open Houses in Cherry Hill this weekend.  Come out and see which one you like the best.  Keri Ricci and her team will be there to show you the homes and help answer all of your questions.  If you are in the market to buy a home in Cherry Hill New Jersey you should definitely check out these homes on Sunday between 1pm and 4pm.   Address are as follows: 1232 Forge Rd, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 207 Barclay Lane, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 520 Mackin Dr, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 559 Tarrington Rd, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 110 Wayside Dr, Cherry Hill, New Jersey You can find Keri Ricci at www.keriricci.com You can get prequalified at www.mikebadessasmc.com Superior Home Mortgage Corp. licensed in PA: Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking . Supe... 02/03/2011

Accelerated Plans Reduce Interest and Help You Pay Off the Loan Faster Do you want to pay less interest on your home loan? Of course you do, and it's not difficult. There are a few different methods you can use to reduce your total interest and pay off your mortgage at a faster rate. Bi Weekly Payment Plans You lender probably offers a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan, where you make a half-payment every two weeks instead of a full payment once each month. By paying bi-weekly you'll make twenty-six half payments, or thirteen full payments each year--one more than you would make by sending  the lender traditional monthly payments. Every dollar of that extra payment goes towards reducing te principal balance of your loan, the balance that future interest calculations are based on. As you ... 01/28/2011

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, you'll probably want to not only find the best agent for your needs, but one with integrity and one that knows the ropes.  They don't have to be your best friend, but they should be someone that you genuinely like-because you'll be spending a lot of time with them.  Start with recommendations from family and friends.  Ask what they liked about them.  What they didn't like.  And then take it one step further- spend about 30-45 minutes and ask them these questions! How long have you been in the Real Estate Business? Is it your full time job? What are your credentials? What other type of real estate training courses have you had? How many homes did you sell last year? How many home buyers did you represent last year? What is your average time to se... 01/25/2011

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. To say I enjoyed mine with be an understatement. My son got to sleep over at his cousins house on Saturday which allowed me to go out and have a nice dinner with some friends at Ponzio's in Cherry Hill. My niece and my son are only separated by 5 days so to see them grow up together is an absolute joy! Ponzio's as always was an excellent choice. It is by far my favorite dinner in Cherry Hill, since the Diamond Diner closed years back. The food is great no matter what you are in the mood for. From Breakfast to Dessert, Ponzio's of Cherry Hillwill not disappoint!  I wanted to share a pic of my son and niece after they finally crashed after a long night of fun! 01/23/2011

You can deduct certain mortgage expenses. The Internal Revenue Service promotes home ownership through a number of tax deductions related to the cost of mortgages. Your lender documents mortgage expenses on your tax form 1098. All mortgage expense deductions are itemized deductions. You can only claim itemized deductionso if you forgo the standard deduction and file your taxes using form 1040 and Schedule A 1) Mortgage Interest - Mortgage interest is typically the largest deduction for people with mortgages. The IRS permits you to deduct the interest on the first $500,000 of your mortgage. If you are married and file a joint return, the limit increases to the interest on the first $1 million. To qualify, the loan must be backed by your home and your myust make the payments on the mortg... 01/19/2011

The majority of us are using Facebook in order to help market ourselves and our companies. I was doing some reseach online and found an article containing the these 10 reasons why a consumer would follow your company. This research was completed by Co-Tweet and ExactTarger. I hope you all find this useful and maybe it will help you gain those followers that you are looking for. 1) 40% Want to recieve discounts and promotions 2) 37% want  to show support for the brand/company 3) 36% hope ( want ) to get free samples, a coupon (a.k.a. freebies) 4) 34% want to stay informed about the activities of the company 5) 33% want to get updates on future products 6) 30% want to get updates and information on future sales 7) 27% like to get fun and entertainment out of it 8) 25% want to get accress ... 01/17/2011

I was very happy to go to Steak 38 for the first time in a few years. This was my favorite place to steak in Southern New Jersey. The steak royal was always my favorite. You're meal isn't complete until you have their Banana's Foster either! It was the same atmosphere I remembered so it was a really pleasant evening. I didn't even now that it was re-opening so to drive by and see that during the week was a great surprise. I quickly called to make reservations for this weekend and the evening was a hit! Does any one else locally have a great recommendation for where to go get a great steak?? I love trying new places so please  do not be shy with any recoomendations. I hope every ones New Year is off to a great start! (856) 665-4090 515 Route 38 Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 01/16/2011

    Many of us know that FHA raised their monthly mortgage insurance rates in October 2010. For the most part, this made FHA loans more expensive on a monthly basis once it went into effect. You can see the changes and see how it affected the monthly mortgage payments. 3 quick examples regarding the change in FHA mortgage insurance Now, Fannie Mae will be increasing their fees on specific credit scores and depending on your down payment. It's all shown in this post, Pricing hikes for Conventional loans - April 1st, 2011   So.. are waiting for the new wrecking ball that will crush or slow down the housing market? I ask this question because there are people that feel this will happen. I read about this in some of the comments from Dennis Helmstetter's blog, Fannie Mae - New fees a kick i... 01/15/2011

16 TRACEY TERRACE, CHERRY HILL, NJ 08003 OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY JANUARY, 16 2011 1:00 - 3:OO PM Are you looking for a beautiful cul de sac home on the East side of Cherry Hill for under $300,000? Then do I have a deal for you: 16 Tracey Terrace, Cherry Hill NJ is being offered for sale for $297,000? Located in the Point of Woods section of Cherry Hill, NJ this home features End of Cul De Sac 4 Bedrooms 2.5 Bathrooms 2 car garage Formal Living Room Formal Dining Room Updated eat-in kitchen with double convection ovens, 4 burner cooktop, dishwasher, garbage disposal, custom oak cabinets Family Room with built in bookshelf, bar area and breakfast bar Fireplace with full brick wall Partially finished & heated basement (currently being used as a music studio, but would make excellent "mancave", o... 01/11/2011

          The day after we received about 2 to 3 inches.... and it was extremely easy to shovel.. very fluffy.                                 Just a few shots off my street.... it's 28 degrees, but windy, making it feel like 15 degrees or so...  for you southerners, they call that wind chill... wind chill factor of 15 degrees.                                                               Then there is me.... I just came across this picture last night. It was my junior year in HS.  I went to Breckenridge, CO in the spring of 1984. Yes, I am nuts.... but I got an excellent tan after my sunburn went away.  ;o)  It was still in the 40's, I think. But it felt warmer because of the sun. Happy 2011 & to a successful 2011 01/09/2011

Cherry Hill, NJ Homes for Sale - Information you need for your next home purchase Happy new year!  As most people do, the new year is a great opportunity to establish personal goals for 2011. Whether its professionally related to your job or a personal achievement like better overall health, we all seem to set the new year as a benchmark for reflection and goal setting.  Its no differnent for many who wish to achieve the goal of home ownership.  If 2011 is that year, you may have timed things rather well.  Prices are down and rates are low. So how can you better achieve your goal?  Try the following: Speak with a Realtor.  For example, when looking for Cherry Hill, NJ Homes for Sale or Homes throughout Southern New Jersey , a Realtor can provide you with the latest market statistics and... 01/08/2011